


It is Just

by TheBearMuse



Series: Allison Hawke [3]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-03
Updated: 2013-10-03
Packaged: 2017-12-28 06:46:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/988978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBearMuse/pseuds/TheBearMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Allison Hawke, Sebastian Vael, and their companions investigate what happened to the workers at the Bone Pit and find more than they bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It is Just

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Catchingkatniss](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catchingkatniss/gifts).



> Inspired by "It is just," a catch phrase of Justice's from an incredibly silly fanfic. A modification of my two word prompt system.

Sebastian Vael could not shake the nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong as he followed Allison Hawke and their other companions through the mountains outside Kirkwall. Not that there was any chance a tale that began with a lone horse returning unattended from a quarry was going to end well.

"It's too bad that the horse wasn't a halla," Merrill said. "Then I could have asked it what happened to the miners."

"I didn't think that there were any halla around here," replied Allison. "And even if there were, don't they only bond with the Dalish?"

"Oh, there aren't. And they do. But it would have made things easier, wouldn't it? We wouldn't be going in blind."

It had never struck Sebastian as a good idea for Allison to be involved with the Bone Pit, especially with all the troubles she had faced there over the past six years. He could not fault her for wanting her fellow Ferelden refugees to have steady work, as few Kirkwall residents were willing to hire them. However, the mine's checkered past and this latest report of no contact from the workers made him wish once again that Hawke could have helped her countrymen find work in a safer environment. Of course he knew that Allison felt the same way, but there was nothing either of them could do about it.

"We'll find out soon enough," Aveline Hendyr said as they rounded a hill and the mine came into view.

It was worse than he had feared. Charred corpses littered the area, so badly disfigured that they could barely be recognized as human. "May they find peace at the side of the Maker," Sebastian said. He would have to obtain the names of the miners lost from Hubert and submit them to the Chantry. Perhaps he could speak to the Grand Cleric and get some gold to the families of the deceased. Dark times were about to become even darker for them.

A strangled sound to his left brought Sebastian back to the present. "This is my fault," Allison said, grief flooding her voice. "I convinced them to come back."

"You couldn't've known there would be more dragons," Merrill reassured her. "The last ones were really small. For dragons, anyway."

"What might have been done differently isn't important now," Aveline said, ever the captain of the guard. "All we can do now is get rid of the dragons so no one else dies."

Allison still looked visibly shaken. "We'll put right what we can, Hawke," Sebastian told her. "The rest is in the Maker's hands."

She gazed at him searchingly for a moment, perhaps looking for answers he could not give. Taking a deep breath to compose herself, she turned back to the blood-spattered scene ahead and nodded. "Right. Let's not let their deaths go unanswered." She led the way further into the carnage. "Now if you were a dragon, where would you go after slaughtering a mine full of workers?"

"That way," Merrill said, pointing up at the sky. Sebastian took an involuntary step backwards as a huge purple dragon soared over their heads.

"Convenient," quipped Allison. "Let's go!"

Noodle led the way down to the large clearing that the dragon had flown toward. Sebastian shaded his eyes against the glare of the sun, trying to get a good glimpse of the dragon. "If I'm not mistaken, that looked like a high dragon," he warned them.

"That just means it'll make a bigger roar when it dies," Allison replied. He could practically taste the bitterness in her voice. Sebastian frowned and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by an ear-shattering screech as the dragon landed before them.

Aveline drew the creature's attention to her, turning it away from the others. Noodle snapped at the dragon's heels, dodging the flailing tail as he did so.

All started well, but as the fight dragged on and the dragon summoned its children to its side, Sebastian saw Aveline was no longer receiving healing from Allison. He looked to where she had been and found her surrounded by dragons. Moving quickly, he kicked a miasmic flask into their midst, stunning them. Before he could reach Hawke, the beasts exploded in a shower of blood. Allison stood over them, blood continuing to flow freely from her nose. Their eyes met for a moment. His concern must have been written on his face because she grinned at him reassuringly. Her gaze shifted over his shoulder and she cast a spell that flung a glob of blood past him. He turned in time to see it catch a dragonling in the face. Sebastian glanced back at Allison, who shrugged modestly before whirling back to the dragonlings creeping up behind her.

Sebastian headed toward Allison to help her with the young dragons. A blast of fire from the high dragon forced him to roll backwards into a crouch. He sensed the beast was coming and tumbled out of the way as Aveline ran to meet it. He had lost sight of Hawke and looked about wildly for her. Blood flew toward the dragon from behind him, but a quick glance back showed it was Merrill.

A howl from the far side of the dragon drew his attention. Giving the creature's tail a wide berth, Sebastian followed Noodle's barking and ran past the dragon to where the mabari stood by Allison. Even without the barked warning, he knew instantly that something was wrong. She was pale, too pale, and still bleeding profusely. Even as he made his way to her, she fell to the ground.

"NO!" He was hardly even aware of the word tearing itself from his throat. It felt like an eternity before he reached Allison, though in reality it was only mere moments. She was unconscious, but still breathing. Sebastian quickly pulled the handkerchief she had given him out of the hidden compartment in his belt where he kept his lockpicks. "Come on, Hawke. You can't die here." He pulled her up so she would not choke on her own blood and held the handkerchief to her nose to staunch the flow.

Noodle growled as the high dragon took flight again. Aveline and Merrill rushed over to where Sebastian knelt by Allison.

"Oh no, Hawke!" cried Merrill.

"What happened?" Aveline asked at the same time.

"She's lost too much blood," he told them. His handkerchief had soaked through and he used his free hand to grab Allison's handkerchiefs from the pouch at her waist and switched one in.

"Look out!" Aveline shouted, blocking the dragonlings that were converging on them.

"Merrill, Noodle, help Aveline!" Sebastian told them. Neither moved. Merrill appeared to be frozen in concern. Noodle whined plaintively. "Keep them off us. I'll join you if I can." Noodle barked in affirmation and after giving Allison's hand a lick ran over to join Aveline.

Merrill remained, wringing her hands nervously. "I could maybe try to -"

"MERRILL!" yelled Aveline, who was completely swarmed by dragons. That got the elf moving, and not a moment too soon, as three dragonlings slipped past Aveline only to be ensnared by one of Merrill's spells.

Sebastian checked the new handkerchief. The blood was slowing down, but she was still unconscious. They would have to get to Anders in his clinic. She was beyond the help of alchemal remedies. Hopefully he could help, otherwise....no, he could not let himself think like that. _Blessed Andraste, protect us in this dark hour._ Especially Allison who is not yet ready to meet the Maker...

A fireball from the high dragon flew at them. Unable to move Allison, Sebastian desperately turned them so that he took the brunt of the blast. _Thank Andraste_ , he thought as the fire scorched his armor, but little else. Had the beast aimed higher, they would have been cooked. At least his prayers had been heard.

The ground shook as the dragon landed nearby, almost on top of Aveline. Thankfully, the two women and the mabari had cleared out the smaller dragons, so they only had the big one to deal with. Sebastian looked down to check on Allison. She was still unconscious, but at least the flow of blood had slowed to a trickle. "Hang on, Allison," he murmured, moving his free hand to stroke her forehead.

A shout from Aveline drew the rogue's attention back to the fight. The high dragon had picked the guard captain up in its mouth and was swinging her about dangerously. Merrill moved in closer to cast a spell at the creature's neck, but got blindsided by its wildly lashing tail. The elf flew backwards and landed awkwardly amongst some rocks.

Sebastian grabbed his bow from where he'd dropped it next to Allison. He knew Noodle couldn't bring the beast down alone, not before something awful happened to Aveline. He only prayed that Allison could spare him for these few moments. After making sure Hawke was safely lying on her side, the exiled prince notched an arrow and aimed at the dragon's head. 

_Blessed Andraste, please let this arrow find its mark._ He loosed it and - praise the Maker! It hit home in the beast's eye. The air split with its scream and Aveline dropped to the ground.

Enraged, the half-blinded dragon turned to him. _That didn't quite work out as planned_ , he thought ruefully. Sebastian immediately started running, leading the creature away from the others. It followed him, dripping dark red blood as it went. The prince had one more trick up his sleeve. He only prayed that Andraste saw fit to assist him.

The dragon reared up to spit a fireball at him, but instead of running, Sebastian quickly notched an arrow and let it fly into the beast's mouth. The arrow pierced the tender roof of the dragon's mouth just as it spit the fireball at him. He tried to cover his face, but did not have enough time to fully shield his forehead, which got scorched painfully. Once the flames cleared and he had made quite sure his hair was not on fire, Sebastian let his arms drop.

The great beast was staggering about, screaming in pain. Good, his arrow had likely pierced through to its brain. Sebastian aimed another shot at the creature's uninjured eye and fired. This time, it must have gone all the way through, as the dragon finally fell to the ground. A shout came from across the field. He looked up just as Aveline rushed the still-twitching beast and hack its neck with her sword until its head separated from its body.

Sebastian hurried back to Allison's side as quickly as he could. Noodle had joined her and was nuzzling her side. Hawke had not moved, but was still breathing, thank the Maker. Her bleeding had finally stopped as well, which was another blessing. The prince wiped the dried blood from her face, which was still unusually pale. He looked up and spotted Aveline over where Merrill had fallen. "How's Merrill?" he called to her.

"Alive, but I don't think she can walk on this leg," came the reply. "How's Hawke?"

"We need to get her to Anders."

It did not take them long to work out that Aveline would help Merrill limp along while Sebastian carried Allison. The guard captain had given him a knowing look when he volunteered to take Hawke. Aveline could have easily carried her instead, but knew that this was something he needed to do.

It disturbed him to discover how light Allison was. Sebastian had been keeping an eye on her ever since she stopped eating after her mother's murder. Evidently, he was not watching her closely enough; her bulky robes had concealed the truth from him. No wonder she had collapsed.

Aveline and Merrill left him when they reached Kirkwall. Merrill insisted that her injury was just a sprained ankle and that there was no need to bother Anders on her account. Aveline sighed and took her to Lowtown while Sebastian carried the still unconscious Allison down to Darktown. Noodle trotted along by his side, growling at anyone who got too close to either of them and whimpering at Hawke from time to time.

Mercifully, Anders was in his clinic and not busy with other patients, his mage rebellion, or his manifesto. However, that did not make him happy to see them.

"Well, well, look who's come crawling back," Anders said as Sebastian entered, Allison still unconscious in his arms. "Don't," he added as the prince made to rest her on a table. "You have some nerve bringing her here after what she's done."

Sebastian fought back the urge to sink to the former Warden's level. Maintaining his calm despite the desperateness of the situation, he replied, "You admitted lying to her about getting rid of Justice and your plan sounded suspicious. What else could she have done?"

The former Warden let out a strangled laugh. "This isn't about me. This is about Hawke." He looked completely disgusted as he listed off Allison's sins. "She's a blood mage, which is bad enough on its own. But not only does she refuse to help her fellow mages, she actively hunts them alongside the templars!"

"You know as well as I do why. Someone in the Circle knew about the apostate blood mage who killed Leandra. There is deep corruption amongst those you would see freed."

"So the innocent have to suffer and die in the meantime?"

"If the wicked are released from the tower, then they will cause others to suffer and die."

"Funny how the mages are always the ones expected to make that sacrifice."

Sebastian glanced down at Allison. Her face had gone completely ashen, even her lips. Time grew short, as did the exiled prince's temper. He strode over to Anders so quickly that the mage had no time to react. "I am not here to debate the plight of the mages. I am not here to mend the rift between you and Hawke. You're both trying to do what you believe to be right." He stared into the healer's eyes, desperate for him to understand. "She is dying, Anders. If you let her die when you could help, you will be going against all that you stand for." Sebastian's voice broke with raw emotion. "Please, don't let her die."

A deep pain entered the mage's eyes. When he finally spoke, he croaked out a faint "All right." Anders gestured to the nearest table. "Lay her down here." Sebastian gently placed Allison where the healer had indicated, resting her head on the repurposed sack that served as a pillow. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a fleeting memory reminded him that Allison had sewn those pillows together for Anders six years ago. That was a long time ago, before Sebastian had met her other companions and before...other things.

Anders approached the other side of the table. If he noticed that Sebastian was still holding Allison's hand, he did not acknowledge it. Noodle watched attentively from Sebastian's side as a white light glowed from the healer's hands. As he passed them over Hawke, the color slowly returned to her face. Noticing that Anders was growing paler in trade, Sebastian slipped a mana potion from Allison's pouch and offered it to him. The mage looked surprised, but took it gratefully and renewed his efforts. _Always so surprised by kindness_ , thought the former brother sadly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Sebastian added the potion to the list of things that would have to be replaced once Allison was safe.

Hawke moaned faintly and Sebastian squeezed her hand tighter in response. Noodle sat up alertly and cocked his head at his mistress. Anders pressed his hand to Allison's forehead and muttered another healing incantation. With a gasp, Allison's eyes flew open. She reflexively tried to lash out, but between Sebastian and Anders, Hawke was well pinned to the table. Noodle barked happily as Allison blinked in confusion, trying to get her bearings. Her eyes found his and the panic went out of them. "Where -" was all she managed to say before sinking back against the table.

"Anders's clinic," Sebastian told her. "You collapsed from losing too much blood." He read her next unspoken questions in her eyes. "We got the dragons. Merrill was hurt, but well enough for Aveline to take her home."

Allison looked relieved for a moment, but then frowned. "Anders?"

Sebastian nodded to the blond man across from him, who had removed his hand from Hawke's forehead and was standing there looking awkward. Allison followed his gaze. "He brought you back." The healer looked up, his amber eyes meeting the prince's. _Thank you, Anders._

"I was gone..." As the full realization hit her, Allison reached out her free hand to Anders, who reluctantly took it. "Thank you. You had every reason not to, but you did anyway."

Anders looked even more uncomfortable. "No, I really didn't. It would not have been...just." He looked pained saying the word and slid his hand from Allison's. "You should be all right in a few minutes. Just don't push yourself too hard. You might want to avoid using magic whenever possible for the next week or so." Blood magic, Sebastian knew he meant. He could tell Anders was holding back several derogatory remarks; it was written all over his face. But the mage refrained and retreated to the other end of the clinic before he lost control of his self-restraint.

Allison squeezed Sebastian's hand to draw his attention. He carefully helped her to a sitting position. The air went out of him as she gripped him in a tight hug. He was not sure whether to be grateful or disappointed that he was still wearing his armor. "I don't know what you said to him, Sebastian," she murmured in his ear. "But that saved my life as surely as his healing. So thank you, love."

Before he could respond, Noodle barked and placed his front paws on Allison's leg. She laughed and rumpled his ears. "And thank you, Noodle. I have no doubt that you guarded me valiantly as well." Hawke glanced at Sebastian for confirmation, and he nodded. "That's a good boy!" Directing her attention back to the prince, she carefully slid off the table. "Let's go see how Merrill's doing. Then we can report back to that old git Hubert." At the look on his face, she added, "I'm fine. I promise I'll rest after that. You can even lock me into the estate, okay?"

As they waved farewell to Anders on their way out of the clinic, Sebastian realized that Allison's fingers were still entwined with his. She seemed to sense what he was thinking and grinned up at him. He could not help but blush as he smiled back.


End file.
